Topic: do i want to buy an 87 22rte 4runner?

[bennettvonbennett]

hey all - i have owned a number of toyota 4x4's - an '82, an '84, and an '86 truck with 22Rs as well as a '71 FJ40 - which are now sadly all gone. i am currently driving an '87 Jeep Wrangler and, basically, i hate it. i was more or less given this car ($500) and haven't spent too much money on it, but am working on it constantly. it has been sadly neglected for most of its life and i'm more than ready to see it go.
 
so, here's the deal - i have found an '87 4runner turbo (22RTE) with the auto trans and SR5 package. its running well but has the following issues:
- rear brake lines have an issue of some kind and at least some of them most likely need to be replaced. possibly also master cyl rebuild.
- exhaust is rusted thru in front of the cat. MN doesnt require any smog so i could just skip the cat i suppose - do the turbos use a special cat? or have a special need for one?
- body rust of course - this is MN - how hard is it to find replacement body panels?

price is around $1400, fair?

a few other questions:
- can one disconnect the turbo without too much difficulty? can you create some kind of on/off switch so that it doesnt engage - say for off-road use?
- what kind of mileage do the turbos get as compared to the stock 22RE?
- common issues to look out for?

things i'm not overly concerned about:
- IFS, i'm happy enough to loose a little potential clearance and tire size for increased happiness on the road. i dont really plan on doing a lot of rock crawling with this thing.
- i'm not planning on doing alot of towing.
- stock turbo vs some other better turbo, for now i dont care that much about squeezing every ounce of performance out of this motor.

basically i want something that gets good mileage, that i can drive in any and all weather conditions, occasionally on some not so radical trails, and keep for the next 3 or 4 years without a lot of headaches and expense.

sorry for the long post,
and thanks alot in advance.
cheers, bennett

[Rocksurfer]

There is no need to be able to turn off the turbo even if you could. That thing doesn't kick in until 3,000 rpm, and if you need to rev that high you'll be wanting the power anyways. I owned an 86 turbo and my brother had an 87, can you say gutless bottom-end? The lower compression engine, the power robbing auto which there is no option in the turbo 4Runner and the fact that the turbo kicks in at such a high rpm equals a very good little rockcrawler. I loved my turbo except for very long steep hill climbs, would tend to run out of power and the auto trans would soak up any excees power that was left, and if you tryed to use the turbo up hill you'll loose traction. Going down hill is another issue but if you are good with an ebrake you can deal with the lack of engine braking.

[Hottrod81]

 

[79coyotefrg]

CT26  turbo from a Supra    cut the cat, and hang on for the ride